The 2021-22 college basketball season is almost over. The Final Four is days away, and soon we will crown an NCAA Tournament champion.

But before anyone cuts down the nets in Minneapolis, there are individual awards to hand out. Here are my picks for the top players and coach in college basketball this season:

Player of the Year

Aliyah Boston, Junior, F, South Carolina

A few weeks ago, I broke down the cases for Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston in the Player of the Year race. I settled on Boston as my POY, and that hasn’t changed. I won’t rehash the entire argument, but I will say this: If you aren’t sure why Boston should win the award, turn on a replay of South Carolina’s Elite Eight win over North Carolina and settle into your spot on the couch. Her performance in that game tells you everything you need to know.

Boston’s 28-point and 22-rebound performance epitomizes exactly what she has brought to the court all season. The junior’s ability to block and alter shots, and altogether change the way South Carolina’s opponents play by making them avoid the paint, make her the clear choice for this award.

Boston is Battling 💪

9 PTS | 9 REB already 🤯#MarchMadness x @GamecockWBB pic.twitter.com/NeWNaeeQ6m

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 25, 2022

Defensive Player of the Year

Aliyah Boston, Junior, F, South Carolina

A big part of Boston’s POY campaign has been her defense, so my gut was telling me all season that she should win Defensive Player of the Year as well. Stanford’s Cameron Brink is also a solid contender, so here is a statistical breakdown of the two.

Per Her Hoop Stats, Boston averages 11.7 defensive rebounds per 40 minutes compared to Brink’s 10, and 1.8 steals to Brink’s 1.6. The Stanford sophomore ranks better in blocked shots, with 4.8 per 40 minutes, compared to Boston’s 3.5, but the category that truly tips this race in Boston’s favor is fouls. She averages just two fouls in 40 minutes of action, while Brink averages 5.1. In order to make a defensive impact, you have to stay on the floor, and South Carolina’s star is able to do that.

Coach of the Year

Wes Moore, NC State

In his ninth season as NC State head coach, Wes Moore put together his best performance. The Wolfpack recorded their best record during his tenure (32-4) and won the ACC regular season in 32 years. And after three straight Sweet 16s, Moore — who was named ACC Coach of the Year — led his team to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history. The first came in 1998. NC State was consistent all season, losing just four games and finishing the year on a 13-game win streak that ended with a thrilling double-overtime loss to UConn on Monday.

Freshman of the Year

Olivia Miles, G, Notre Dame

Every play for Notre Dame can be traced back to freshman point guard Olivia Miles. Her passing, decision-making and ability to dictate the flow of a game are all reasons why she’s my Freshman of the Year. Miles averaged 13.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game, the latter of which ranks second in the country behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. She also led Notre Dame to the Sweet 16, the program’s first under second-year coach Niele Ivey.

HOW?!? 😱@oliviamiles06 | #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/M4Ba383Onc

— Notre Dame WBB (@ndwbb) March 26, 2022

All-American First Team

Aliyah Boston, Junior, F, South Carolina

16.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.5 blocks

Based on my previous choice for POY and DPOY, Boston heading up the All-American team doesn’t need any more of an explanation.

Caitlin Clark, Sophomore, G, Iowa

27.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists

Clark led the country in both assists and points per game this year, and her scoring prowess is unmatched. She can shoot logo 3-pointers, finish off balance at the rim and score in the mid range.

Haley Jones, Junior, G, Stanford

12.9 points, 3.7 assists, 7.8 rebounds

Jones has been the anchor for a Stanford team that is playing in the Final Four for the second year in a row. She does a little bit of everything for the Cardinal, while also posing a serious mismatch for opponents thanks to her versatility as a scorer.

Great pass Haley Jones ( @haleyjoness19 ) to Anna Wilson ( @a_willy03 )!!!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/lDu4FlC90q

— Antonio Garcia (@Iruk_WomenSport) March 28, 2022

Rhyne Howard, Senior, G, Kentucky

20.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists

Throughout the season, Howard showcased her basketball IQ and offensive skill while leading Kentucky in scoring. The senior creates her own shot better than almost anyone else in the country.

NaLyssa Smith, Senior, F, Baylor

22.1 points, 11.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks

Smith led Baylor offensively with her ability to face up and create from the free-throw line. The Bears played through Smith and counted on her to rebound and score in every contest.

All-American Second Team

Elissa Cunane, Senior, C, NC State
Cameron Brink, Sophomore, F, Stanford
Ashley Joens, Senior, G/F, Iowa State
Maddy Siegrist, Junior, F, Villanova
Ayoka Lee, Senior, C, Kansas State

All-American Third Team

Aneesah Morrow, Freshman, F, DePaul
Kierstan Bell, Junior, G, Florida Gulf Coast
Khayla Pointer, Grad Student, G, LSU
Angel Reese, Sophomore, F/G, Maryland
Elizabeth Kitley, Senior, C, Virginia Tech

Eden Laase is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. She previously ran her own high school sports website in Michigan after covering college hockey and interning at Sports Illustrated. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Incoming Matildas boss Joe Montemurro revealed a new setback in the return of Australia captain Sam Kerr from injury on Monday, disclosing that the Chelsea striker has recently undergone an additional surgery unrelated to her January 2024 ACL tear.

"I think there were some complications," Montemurro told Australia's Channel 10 about the 31-year-old attacker's status this week. "There was a subsequent intervention, but I do believe she is now back running."

"It was something completely different [to the ACL injury]. I think the knee is fine," Montemurro continued.

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Montemurro, who took the reins of the Matildas this week following a year-long stint leading European club titan OL Lyonnes, did not detail a specific timeline for Kerr's return.

However, the Australia captain is likely to miss the world No. 16 team's upcoming three summer friendlies against No. 38 Slovenia and No. 57 Panama.

That said, though Montemurro has yet to directly connect with Kerr, the Australia boss did state that "there's nothing to worry about, she's on track."

"By all reports, she's focused on getting back and she's focused on being back at her best, knowing that there's an exciting tournament coming up," the new Matildas manager said, referencing the 2026 Asian Cup.

"So with that attitude, I expect to see a fantastic Sam Kerr."

This week's 2025 French Open quarterfinals set up the clay-court Grand Slam's semifinals, with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka taking on three-time defending champ No. 5 Iga Świątek while No. 2 Coco Gauff faces wild card No. 361 Loïs Boisson on Thursday.

In Wednesday morning's highly anticipated all-American showdown, Gauff survived a tight 6-7(6) 6-4, 6-1 quarterfinal battle with fellow US star No. 8 Madison Keys to punch her semifinals ticket.

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Shortly thereafter, Boisson's historic Cinderella run continued as the 22-year-old French up-and-comer took down heavy favorite No. 6 Mirra Andreeva in straight sets — after pulling off a huge Round of 16 upset of US star No. 3 Jessica Pegula on Monday.

Boisson — the youngest French semifinalist at any Grand Slam in 26 years and the first woman to make the penultimate round in her major tournament debut since 1990 — will leap to at least No. 68 in the next WTA rankings thanks to her Roland-Garros performance.

"I don't think it's a miracle," said Boisson of her unexpected Grand Slam debut. "It's just the result of hard work. Nothing else."

On the other side of the 2025 French Open bracket, both Sabalenka and Świątek cruised through their Tuesday quarterfinal matches to reach Thursday's semis, but their toughest match lies ahead.

Despite beating Sabalenka in five out of six previous meetings on clay, Świątek hasn't reached a major tournament final since her 2024 Roland-Garros win.

"I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win," said Sabalenka about her upcoming date with Świątek.

How to watch the 2025 French Open semifinals

Sabalenka and Świątek will kick off the 2025 French Open semifinals at 9 AM ET on Thursday, with Gauff and Boisson taking the court shortly after the first semi concludes.

Both matches will are live on TNT.

The puck has officially dropped on the PWHL expansion process, with existing teams releasing protected players lists as incoming 2025/26 franchises Seattle and Vancouver begin to build rosters.

The teams' exclusive signing window opened Wednesday morning and runs through Sunday, with the 2025 Expansion Draft set for Monday evening.

Both Seattle and Vancouver can sign up to five players each from the league's unprotected and free agency pool this week.

Regardless of how many athletes the franchises choose to sign, the expansion process requires that the new teams grow their rosters to 12 total players by the end of Monday's draft, before completing their 23-athlete lineups alongside the other six teams during the June 24th PWHL entry draft.

The six founding PWHL clubs could only list three protected players for this week's signing window and next week's expansion draft, forcing some difficult roster decisions.

The Boston Fleet did not opt to add captain Hilary Knight to the protected players list — despite the 35-year-old leading the league in scoring this season — with New York's Alex Carpenter and Toronto's Sarah Nurse also headlining the unprotected list.

With growth front-of-mind, the PWHL Players Association also announced that its members voted late last week to publicly disclose their salaries — a move expected to aid negotiations during this week's signing window.

"This will be a tool for players as they consider opportunities across the league," PWHLPA executive director Malaika Underwood told The Athletic.

The Lone Star State is now ruling the 2025 Women's College World Series (WCWS), with the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders taking the NCAA softball field for the national tournament's best-of-three championship series for the first time on Wednesday night.

No. 6-seed Texas reached the final round with a 2-0 semifinal win over SEC foe No. 7 Tennessee on Monday, while No. 12 Texas Tech denied defending champion Oklahoma a chance to extend their historic record, ending the No. 2 seed's hunt for a fifth straight NCAA title with a dramatic 3-2 semifinal ousting.

Pitching will take center stage throughout the championship series, as the regional rivals each boast a stellar ace in the circle in Texas Tech transfer junior and this season's National Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady and Texas star sophomore Teagan Kavan.

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Texas packs experience against Cinderella Texas Tech

While both programs are searching for their first-ever national championship, the more experienced Longhorns have the edge entering this week's competition.

This year marks Texas's eighth overall trip to the WCWS and the Longhorns' third championship series appearance in the last four years, having fallen to Oklahoma in both 2022 and 2024.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech is still blazing trails through brand-new territory, adding a WCWS finals debut to an already-historic 2025 run that included the Red Raiders' first Super Regional appearance and win, and first-ever WCWS berth.

The Longhorns also own this season's head-to-head record over the Red Raiders, snagging two wins over Texas Tech in February.

However, while Kavan threw both those games, including an 11-0 run-rule victory, Canady only featured in one — a narrow 2-1 extra-inning Texas Tech loss in which the deciding run crossed on a throwing error.

Though the Red Raiders are technically the underdogs of this week's championship series, the likely pitchers' duel between Canady and Kavan means that the 2025 WCWS title is anyone's for the taking.

How to watch the 2025 WCWS championship series

The best-of-three 2025 WCWS championship series between Texas and Texas Tech starts on Wednesday, with Game 2 set for Thursday and, if necessary, a winner-take-all final tilt on deck for Friday.

All of the 2025 WCWS championship series clashes will begin at 8 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.